Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome

South East (North & Essex)

Registered Charity Number: 1151099

Project name: Ideal interpretations

Project overview

Our mission and vision is to restore, conserve and interpret the most intact and only operational First World War aerodrome in Europe, ensure the lasting preservation of the whole site, including the natural heritage.

We would like to make a number of small, light touch, but very high impact changes to all the exhibition spaces on SMGWA. This will allow us to take on board feedback, to provide a more accessible and engaging experience for our visitors and continue to grow as an organisation.

We want to make all areas of the site level for people with mobility concerns, providing larger print for people who are visually impaired and an App on borrowable handheld devices for people with visual impairments or learning disabilities. All current displays have been created by different volunteers, at different times, and we will create new interpretation boards, using a consistent 'curatorial voice'. We will re-organise and re-position some displays to make the best possible use of our gallery spaces. Crucially, in doing so, we will create a new temporary exhibition space to host visiting exhibitions - a vital part of our ambition to grow visitor numbers and build financial sustainability.

How the £50,000 grant will help

The grant will fully fund our project and will open our fantastic heritage site to an even wider audience. It will mean we are able to start the project immediately, so all works are completed during the quieter winter months, ready for a re-launch in Spring 2020. It will give the volunteers the resources they need to complete all the works themselves. We are very lucky to have a very highly skilled team, including many qualified tradespeople, who give their time free of charge to share the history of the site with their local community. The funding will allow the site to become more financially sustainable as visitors will be encouraged to repeat their visits to see the new exhibitions. Each visitor will help towards the running costs through their admission fee and secondary spend in the mess cafe and shop.